Wednesday, May 9, 2018

The Four-Seven Debate

The following is a brief synopsis of TheFour-Seven Debate: An
Annotated Translation of the Most Famous Controversy in Korean Neo-Confucian
Thought, by Michael C. Kalton et al. (State University of New York Press,
1994).

The Four-Seven Debate was a debate in
sixteenth century Korean Neo-Confucian philosophy, between Yi Hwang (Toegye,
1501-1570) and Gi Dae-seung (Gobong, 1527-1572), and between Yi I (Yulgok,
1536-1584) and Seong Hon (Ugye, 1535-1598), about the ways in which the Four
Beginnings and Seven Feelings are similar to, or
different from, each other.1

The Four Beginnings (compassion, shame,
respect, and the sense of right and wrong) were described by Mengzi
(Mencius, 372-289 BCE), who said, ”The sense of compassion is the beginning of
benevolence (ren), the sense of shame
is the beginning of righteousness (yi),
the sense of respect is the beginning of propriety (li), and the sense of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom (zhi). All human beings have these four
senses, just as they have four limbs.” (Mengzi,
2A.6).2,3

The Seven Feelings were described in
the Liji (Book of Rites) as basic feelings
of which all human beings are capable. The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong), a chapter of the Liji attributed to Zisi (c. 481-402
BCE), describes four basic human feelings or emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, and joy) whose
arousal to appropriate levels results in a state of harmony, and whose non-arousal
results in a state of centeredness or equilibrium, but the Li yun (Evolution of Ritual) chapter of the Liji describes seven basic human feelings or emotions (desire,
hate, love, fear, grief, anger, and joy).4

The Zhongyong says, in describing the basic human feelings or emotions:

“When joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure
have not yet arisen, it is called the Mean (centeredness, equilibrium). When
they arise to appropriate levels, it is called “harmony.” The Mean is the great
root of all-under-heaven. “Harmony” is the penetration of the Way through
all-under-heaven. When the Mean and Harmony are actualized, Heaven and Earth
are in their proper positions, and the myriad things are nourished.”5

But the Li yun says,

“What is meant by the genuine (qing) in man? Pleasure, anger, sadness,
fear, love, hate, desire, these seven we are capable of without having learned
them.”6

The tone of the Four-Seven Debate,
as manifested in the letters exchanged between Toegye and Gobang from 1559-1566,
was quite courteous and respectful. The tone of the letters subsequently exchanged
between Yulgok and Ugye was also quite cordial and respectful.

In a letter written to Gobong in
1559, Toegye says the emergence of the Four Beginnings is purely a matter of
principle (li) and therefore involves
nothing but good, but the emergence of the Seven Feelings includes material
force (qi) and therefore involves
both good and evil.7

In a reply written to T’oegye in
1559, Gobong contends that to say that the Four Beginnings are produced by
principle and are therefore nothing but good, and that the Seven Feelings are
produced by material force and therefore involve both good and evil, is to
differentiate the one from the other and make them two distinct things.
However, principle and material force are always combined in actual things, and
are inseparable.8

In a reply written to Gobong in
1560, Toegye agrees that the Four Beginnings and Seven Feelings are equally
feelings, but he says the Four Beginnings correspond to the original goodness
of human nature, while the Seven Feelings correspond to changes in human nature
that may be caused by external conditions. Toegye agrees that principle and
material force are interdependent, and that just as there can be no material
force without principle, there can be no principle without material force. But
he suggests that the Four Beginnings are predominantly a matter of principle,
and that the Seven Feelings are predominantly a matter of material force.

In a reply to Toegye, Gobong says
that although the Seven Feelings combine principle and material force and
involve both good and evil, the Four Beginnings are actually only those of the
Seven Feelings that are in accord with principle and are good.9 Both
the Four Beginnings and the Seven Feelings emerge from the same source: the
mind and heart. The Four Beginnings are not a distinctive set of feelings that
only arise from principle and not from material force.10

In a reply to Gobong, Toegye
suggests that to say the Four Beginnings and Seven Feelings are the same, with
nothing distinguishing them, is to say that principle and material force are
the same, with nothing distinguishing them.11

In a letter written
to Ugye in 1572, Yulgok explains that material force is what principle “mounts
upon” (like a rider mounting upon a horse). Without principle, material force
has nothing to guide it, and without material force, principle has nothing upon
which to mount. Principle and material force are interdependent; there can’t be
one without the other.“The Four
Beginnings are the good side of the Seven Feelings, and the Seven Feelings are
a comprehensive term that includes the Four Beginnings,” says Yulgok.12
The term, “The Four Beginnings,” is just another term for the subset of Seven
Feelings that are good feelings. The Seven Feelings include the Four
Beginnings.13

In a reply to Yulgok, Ugye compares
the relation of principle and material force to that of a rider and a horse.
Without the horse, the rider cannot come and go, but without the rider, the
horse will stray from the proper path.14

In a reply to Ugye, Yulgok says that
principle is formless, but that material force has form. Principle pervades, but material force delimits. Principle has no beginning or end, no before or after, and it isn't subject to the constraints of space and time, but it makes all concrete form and activity possible.15

FOOTNOTES

1TheFour-Seven Debate: An Annotated Translation
of the Most Famous Controversy in Korean Neo-Confucian Thought, by Michael
C. Kalton, with Oaksook C. Kim, Sung Bae Park, Youngchan Ro, Tu Wei-Ming, and
Samuel Yamashita (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994).

2D.C. Lau translates this saying of Mencius as “The
heart of compassion is the germ of benevolence; the heart of shame, of
dutifulness; the heart of courtesy and modesty, of observance of the rites; the
heart of right and wrong, of wisdom. Man has these four germs just as he has
four limbs.” (Mencius, translated by
D.C. Lau, New York: Penguin Books, 1970, pp. 82-83).

3Irene Bloom translates this saying of Mencius as
“The mind’s feeling of pity and compassion is the sprout of humaneness (ren); the mind’s feeling of shame and
aversion is the sprout of rightness (yi);
the mind’s feeling of modesty and compliance is the sprout of propriety (li); and the mind’s sense of right and
wrong is the sprout of wisdom (zhi).
Human beings have these four sprouts, just as they have four limbs.” (Mencius, translated by Irene Bloom, New
York: Columbia University Press, 2009, p.35).

About Me

Alex Scott was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Chicago, and has lived in Baltimore since the 1980's. He attended Groton School, Yale University, and Rush Medical College. He is a physician who has had a long-time interest in philosophy. His philosophical interests include ethics, semiotics, and the philosophy of language. He is the author of three books, and has co-translated with Stephanie Adair a major work by the German philosopher Nicolai Hartmann (Möglichkeit und Wirklichkeit, 1938; Possibility and Actuality, 2013). He enjoys running, listening to classical music, jazz, and blues, and seeing concerts, plays, and films. He also finds that reading the Bible and attending church make an important contribution to his spiritual life. He is married, and has two sons.

His wife, Carol J. Scott, is an emergency medicine physician and nationally recognized expert on stress management, who is the author of Optimal Stress: Living in Your Best Stress Zone (2010). She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, coach, and corporate consultant, who also hosts a syndicated "Stress Relief Radio" show on CRN talk radio.